As soon as Dutch pulled the box from his overnight bag, Noah got a chill in his veins.

"What the hell is that, Dutchy?" Marco demanded from his sprawled position on the couch. "Another one of your gayass board games?" Dutch sneered at him and clicked the television off. "Hey!"

"C'mon, Bumlets. It's time for Ouija."

"You brought a Ouija board?"

"Ouija is the best part of sleepovers! Now get your ass down here."

Marco sulkily slid down to the table as Dutch set up. "Guys, come on!" The others, glad to be distracted from their boredom, made their way to the table. All except Noah.

"Snitch, don't be a chicken."

Noah scowled. "I'm not a chicken. I just don't like this game. It's creepy."

"... You're a chicken. Sit down."

Noah pursed his lips, then fell clumsily to his knees, placing his fingers on the indicator. "I hate this game."

"No negative thoughts. I'm calling the spirits and they don't come if they think you don't believe in them." Dutch shut his eyes and started an overly dramatic speech that made the others giggle slightly until Dutch, apparently a seasoned veteran with the game, glared at them and apologized loudly for his friends' disrespect, and begged for the spirits to come down and show their mighty power.

"You are such a loser, Dutchy," Jack teased.

"Shut up, Cowboy. You ask a question first. The spirits will show you."

Jack's eyebrows furrowed. "All right then. Spirits! If you know so much, tell the others the name of the girl I have a crush on!"

For a moment, the indicator was still. Then it started moving. The boys all leaned in, eager to see the answer. Each accused another of moving it, and in turns, each accused removed his hands to show he was not moving it. They giggled nervously, five thirteen year-old boys trying to see if the spirits knew what Dutch liked to say they knew.

"S... A...R..." Marco read slowly, following the white indicator as it moved across the board. "A... H..." His head jerked up to stare at Jack, whose face had gone pale. "Sarah? Is that your crush's name?"

Jack's mouth twitched, and he nodded. Dutch's face glowed in the dim light.

"Hah! See, guys? Someone else ask a question!"

They spent the better part of an hour taking turns asking questions that varied from "Will I pass my test this Wednesday?" to "How old will I be when I die?" Nick got a scare when the board said he wouldn't go to Princeton for college like he wanted, and it took a moment for the others to calm him down.

"Hey, Snitch hasn't asked a question," Nick said suddenly. All eyes turned to the small boy with big teeth; Noah's face flushed. "Don't you have something you want to ask?"

"... Well... no... not really..."

"Oh, come on." Dutch grinned hopefully at him. "Just ask something about your love life. Like the name of the girl you're going to marry. That's an easy one."

Noah blinked helplessly at them, then sighed. "Thanks a ton, Mush," he muttered before shutting his eyes. "Okay, spirits. Answer me this. What's the name of the person I'm going to marry?"

Suddenly, the air in the room seemed to hum; Noah felt electricity crackle at the back of his neck, and while the others tore their hands away from the indicator in shock, Noah felt his fingers stick to it, no matter how hard he tried to pull them away.

"Oh God!" Dutch squealed, his hand over his mouth. "Oh God, Noah, you got a bad spirit!"

Noah cried aloud, his chest thudding against the table as the indicator started to swirl around the board, sometimes clockwise, other times counter-clockwise. After a few freakish moments, Noah felt the indicator stop. He tried to pull his fingers away, but to no avail; he was still stuck.

"Guys..." He whimpered, shutting his eyes in fear. "Guys, what is it doing?!"

Jack, his face snow-white, leaned over the board. "It stopped on the letter 'J' Snitch."

Almost as if it heard him, the indicator swept across the board. "A..."

The others squeezed in against the table, reading along with him as the shining glass enlargedthe otherletters. "R... E... D..."

"Jared?" Nick glanced at Noah, who had his head rested against the table, his arms outstretched to reach the final letter. "You're gonna marry someone named Jared?"

Noah lifted his head, and pulled at his fingers. Finally they released the indicator, and he fell back against the carpet, the thrumming air calming to become breathable again. The boys sat in a silent circle for a long time, before deciding it was time for a hot chocolate run and going to the kitchen to make it, leaving Noah in a heap in the front room.

It would eventually become a suppressed memory, unremarkable because of the terror that Noah had felt while his hands were glued to the indicator, while he was a pawn in the spirits'game. He had no need to remember anything of that sort, so he forgot it. It wasn't important.

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Noah Millerwill eventually grow up, graduate from college with a teaching degree, and start to settle down with a good-looking Italian man he will meet in a coffee shop. Noah has no idea what Fate and the spirits have in store for him.

But then again, who really does?

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.::AUTHOR'S NOTE::.

Now here's a story I'm going to enjoy!

And I think you'll enjoy it as much as I will.

Sleepless in Seattle has got to be probably my favorite movie of all time. Well, favorite live-action movie anyway (w00t MULAN!). So this story has been bubbling in my brain for a long time. Frustration with other stories and ideas finally got this one to boil and that makes me happy.

Now show me love people, and let me know if it makes you happy too. XD!